AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've known for some time that those who prefer classical decks like the Tarot de Marseille to the esoteric reveries of the post-Occult Revival don't subscribe to the conflation of Hebrew letters and trump cards in general, and particularly not to the model proposed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Rather … Continue reading Rolling Back the Golden Dawn’s Syllabus
Tarot Resources
A Tarot Grand Tableau: Cross-Cutting Heresy
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When Lenormand experts are confronted with the question of whether tarot cards can be paired with traditional Lenormand spreads, they sound the alarm and man the battlements. But in keeping with my current action-and-event-based approach to tarot, I can see how the Minor Arcana might be used in a manner similar to the … Continue reading A Tarot Grand Tableau: Cross-Cutting Heresy
The “Argent Helix” Second-Act Celtic Cross Variant
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In my essay yesterday I introduced the concept of a 15-card spread that is basically a Celtic Cross variant. Because it resembles a double ellipse (although a somewhat lopsided one like the lemniscate in the RWS 2 of Pentacles that suggests unbalanced change), and because tarot embodies the mystical nature of the Moon … Continue reading The “Argent Helix” Second-Act Celtic Cross Variant
Further Thoughts on the “Trump-Card Diamond”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Following up on my previous comments about inscribing an equilateral diamond (essentially a "tipped square") within the circumference of a circle, I decided to do just that with the double-triangle arrangement of trump cards from my earlier essay. Refer to the photograph below. (I did something similar with the pip and court cards … Continue reading Further Thoughts on the “Trump-Card Diamond”
A Ranged Approach to Event Timing
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Accurately predicting the time of occurrence for unscheduled events or the rise of unplanned circumstances is one of the thorniest challenges in divination. I still think the best way to pose timing questions is simply to ask "What will happen in my <insert situation here> over the next <week/month/year>?" However, it is possible … Continue reading A Ranged Approach to Event Timing
A Kid’s Tarot-Reading Game
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm always looking for novel ways to read the cards for young people that will get them involved in the process and hold their interest. Here is a board-game motif that invites them to roll a die and move a token on the board to select cards for the reading. It requires a … Continue reading A Kid’s Tarot-Reading Game
The “Mandala of Revealing” Decision-Making Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another "mixed-media" spread that uses tarot cards and a single six-sided die as a "pointer." Instead of just posting the spread and following up with an example reading tomorrow, I combined the two in this post. (The images are from the Magical Tarot of the Golden Dawn by Pat Zelewski and … Continue reading The “Mandala of Revealing” Decision-Making Spread
The “Actor Out On Loan” Life-Purpose Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I sometimes see online requests for "life-purpose" spreads. (For example, "What should I do with my life at this particular moment in time?") Here is my latest attempt to answer the call. (In retrospect, because the Lenormand deck includes cards that are distinctly positive, negative and neutral, it may be worthwhile to work … Continue reading The “Actor Out On Loan” Life-Purpose Spread
The Unseen Map: “Here Be Dragons”
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I just came across the idea that an unpopulated tarot spread (prior to laying the cards) represents an "unseen map of the question" (this coming once again from Vincent Pitisci's Genius of the Tarot, my current "morning-treadmill" read). This squares well with my own premise that the spread positions represent "signposts" or "way-points" … Continue reading The Unseen Map: “Here Be Dragons”
Tarot and Astrology: Convergence or Collision?
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I was already a natal astrologer of the "psychological" school and had been for a couple of years before I began pursuing tarot study and practice in a systematic (primarily esoteric) way. So I have an abiding appreciation for astrological principles even though … Continue reading Tarot and Astrology: Convergence or Collision?
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 